“Not for fame or reward, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty.” --Inscription at Arlington Cemetary

"Each of these heroes stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live and grow and increase in its blessings." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Monday, April 21, 2008

Navy Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos

Remember Our Heroes

Navy Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos, 22, of El Paso, Texas

Airman Campos was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which was attached to the USNS Arctic; he was found dead in Dubai on April 21, 2008 due to a non-combat-related incident.

EL PASO TIMES— Adrian M. Campos, who died Monday in the United Arab Emirate of Dubai, joined the U.S. Navy to visit distant shores, have different experiences and see things far from the Rio Grande that runs next to his small hometown of Fabens, a family member said Wednesday.

Campos, 22, died on when he fell in a hotel under murky circumstances while on shore leave.

"He wanted to see the world, wanted to travel, to see other things other people dream about," said Campos' older brother, Carlos Campos.

Adrian Campos was the youngest of four siblings and graduated in 2003 from Fabens High School, where at one time he was a member of the school's Navy Junior ROTC program. He leaves behind a wife and a 1-year-old daughter, Carlos Campos said. Adrian Campos' wife could not be reached.

Carlos Campos described his younger brother as an outgoing person who enjoyed helping others.

"He was the life of the party," Carlos Campos said.

In April 2006, Adrian Campos joined the Navy. He was an airman apprentice assigned to the Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which is attached to the USNS Arctic, a fast-moving supply ship out of Norfolk, Va.

"He loved his experience in the Navy. He had a job he liked to do a lot. He worked with helicopters," said Carlos Campos, adding that his brother had the goal of eventually opening his own auto body shop.

In November, Adrian Campos' unit was deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, a spokeswoman for the Navy's 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, told The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot newspaper Wednesday that Airman Apprentice Campos was found dead in a hotel while he was off duty and on liberty.

The National, an English-language newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, reported on its Web site (www.thenational.ae) that accounts conflict on why Campos fell to his death early Monday morning from the third floor of the atrium in a Ramada Hotel in Dubai.

Local police told the newspaper the incident was a suicide, but U.S. authorities said it was an accident. Campos might have been sitting on a railing when he fell. The Navy continues an investigation.

Carlos Campos said his brother had told the family he was enjoying his time in the Middle East.

"We don't know exactly what happened. We are still waiting" to learn more, Carlos Campos said. The family is also waiting to find out when the body of Adrian Campos will be returned to El Paso so they can schedule his funeral.